Does Your Pet Show Aggressive Cat Behavior?

Why does your little ball of cuddly fur suddenly show aggressive cat behavior towards either you or other cats? We tend to forget that a cat is essentially an animal who can switch from being a loving domesticated, happy cat to a wild hunting animal. However there are many reasons for aggressive cat behavior some more instinctual than others.

Cat aggression towards people.

Most of us won’t be too affected by a bite or a scratch, but if not treated properly it may become septic. The wound may also be infected with the Bartonella hensalae organism, which causes “cat scratch fever”. For most people this is not serious and may only cause an enlargement of the lymph glands. However for people with a weakened immune system it could cause serious illness. So always thoroughly clean wounds and use a antiseptic cream.

Why did my cat attack me and how can I prevent it happening again?

Fear: A Cat which has not been properly socialised with humans from a young age, has suffered some form of cruelty from a human in the past or associates some event like a trip to the vets with fear, will show aggressive cat behavior and lash out.

Play Aggression: If playing with your cat means a bloody and scratched hand every time, then you may have a cat that was taken away from its mother too early. It has not learnt that it should withdraw it claws when playing. This is something it’s mother would have taught them with a quick reprimand when they were playing too rough with their brothers and sisters. It is best to play with your cat with a stick and some string, making sure that your hands are well out of the way.

Predatory Cat Aggression: Normally in the wild cats would pounce on birds and mice whilst hunting. However if your cat never gets the chance to go outside and hunt they may redirect this predatory aggressive cat behavior and begin to ambush your hands and feet. Especially when you least expect it. To stop this behavior put a bell onto a breakaway collar so that you can hear them coming and use startle techniques to interrupt their stalking behavior. Eventually they will learn that by attacking your feet etc they will be frightened and so will stop.

Petting and biting syndrome: Some cats will attack you if you simply try to stroke them. The acceptance of being stroked is a learned feline behavior and if a cat has not had much human contact throughout its life, especially in the first eight weeks of its life, it will not be used to this contact and will feel threatened. Make sure that you spend some calm and quiet time often with your cat and keep the physical contact short. If you see your cat tense up or flatten its ears, stop touching it immediately. Always reward your cat when they have allowed you to stroke them with a treat. Over time they will learn that you are not going to hurt them and as they relax in your company they may begin to enjoy the odd tickle.

Aggressive behavior towards other cats?

Territory: The most common cause of aggressive cat behavior amongst neighbourhood cats is conflicts over territory. Unfortunately this is impossible to prevent and the only thing you can do is to make sure that your cats are neutered and so less aggressive and to make sure that they are vaccinated every year to stave off any infections from bites and scratches.

Hierarchy: cats who are brought up together from kittens usually remain happy cats and get along with each other just fine. From time to time however there may be disputes over who is the top cat in the household. This may be caused by stress or overcrowding. Cats do like a place to call their own and if you haven’t provided them all with their own cushions etc then this will cause problems.

Introducing a new cat: Your existing cats nose will be put out of joint if a new cat is introduced to the house and they will show aggression towards the new intruder. This can be minimised as long as for the first week you keep the new cat confined to one room and separate from your other cat. Hopefully this will mean they don’t feel so threatened by each other when they do finally meet. Of course there is no guarantee that they will ever become best friends, but usually as long as they give each other space, there won’t be any aggressive cat behavior.

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